Fox News "Sunday Morning Futures" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Andy Biggs

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

BURMAN: Welcome back.

The embattled FBI agent Peter Strzok heading back to Capitol Hill this week. He will testify Thursday, and do so in an open hearing at the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees following his 11-hour closed-door session with lawmakers last week.

Joining me now is Congressman Andy Biggs, who serves on the Judiciary Committee.

Congressman, thank you for joining us this morning.

REP. ANDY BIGGS (R), ARIZONA: Thanks for having me. Good to be with you.

BURMAN: So, Peter Strzok testified behind closed doors, did so for an incredible amount of time, 10, 11 hours, I believe.

What do you hope to learn from him this time around out in the opening -- out in the open, considering you have already heard from him behind closed doors?

BIGGS: Well, don't forget that, while he was sitting behind closed doors, he had two attorneys kind of filtering questions and answers. So, there's a lot left to get too.

And I think we're going to still go back and talk about this -- the biases, how he conducted the investigation.

Don't forget, he was the -- the I.G. said he was the lead investigator on the Hillary Clinton investigation. He was the lead investigator on the Russia collusion. And then somehow he ended up on Mueller investigation. So, there's still a lot of bone on that -- a lot of meat on that bone regarding the bias and whether he actually was enacting some of that bias in his investigations.

BURMAN: Peter Strzok's attorney has said there is a transcript. Before Peter Strzok testifies, release it out to the open, so everyone can see it.

What's wrong with that?

BIGGS: Well, I don't really have a problem with that, but I think you are talking -- and his attorney knows this.

If you have ever done a deposition or worked with courts, getting a transcript done and getting it done right takes time, because, I mean, he was there for 11 hours. So it's a lengthy transcript.

He gets to go through it and say, well, wait a second, that wasn't quite right, typically, before it gets released publicly.

BURMAN: There is another investigation. Speaking of documents, the DOJ document request that yourself and others on the Hill have been calling for, saying you want more documents, they did produce more documents.

Are you satisfied with where things stand right now?

BIGGS: No, I'm completely dissatisfied.

I'm glad that they are finally dribbling them through. But just think about this. We have some requests that have been out almost a year now that they haven't fully responded to.

But, you know, they are getting some out, but I think the public, just like me, are fed up. They want the documents. Let's get them. Quit dribbling them out. Let us see them. So, I'm glad they are giving us some, but I'm for action.

If they are not going to give them to us, then we need to take the next steps. We can't just beg them anymore.

BURMAN: Help me bridge the gap, though. If you want those documents quickly, but you say the transcript needs time. It sounds like, if you want everything quickly, shouldn't the Strzok transcript be out there too?

BIGGS: Well, the Strzok transcript will be out there in a timely fashion, I think.

But -- but don't forget, like I say, some of these requests that we have made by subpoena to DOJ have been out there for almost a year now. That's a long time. That's longer than a week. So...

BURMAN: All right, let me ask you about a different investigation out there, and that is the one into the president.

The president's -- one of his top attorneys, Rudy Giuliani, saying in an interview with The New York Times over the weekend that basically there's two conditions that he is setting forth for the president to sit down with Robert Mueller, one, that there is evidence that the president committed a crime, and,two, that it would be essential to ending the investigation.

Here's what Rudy Giuliani told the New York Times. He said -- quote -- "If they can come to us and show us the basis, and that it is legitimate, and that they have uncovered something, we can go from there and assess their objectivity."

Do you think that's a smart -- a smart play there from Mr. Giuliani and the president's legal team?

BIGGS: Well, it may be a good P.R. move. I think it is a bad legal move myself.

I mean, the authority that's out there is only if the president is -- you know, if he's committed a crime, then the remedy is impeachment, and then, once out of office, then you can proceed with the criminal investigation and conclusion to that.

I don't think he should sit down. I don't think that this is going to be objective in any way. I think it's been skewed from the start. I mean, the fact -- just take a look at the Mueller investigative team. They won't even give us all the names of two people, but we know the people that are on there have been revealed to be highly biased against this president, which, to me, indicates that maybe the investigation itself is tainted.

And I wouldn't -- I wouldn't subject the president to that interview.

BURMAN: Congressman, sit there right there, if you can, for a minute. I want to get your thoughts on immigration. I know you have been to the southern border recently, and to -- your thoughts as well on one of your colleagues there in the House Freedom Caucus.

So, stay there with us.

Meantime, we continue to watch what is happening out in Thailand in the northern part of that country.

Stay -- stay with us, and we will be right back here on "Sunday Morning Futures."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURMAN: Fox News alert, we continue to watch the rescue operation in Thailand to save several boys from -- and their coach from that flooded cave.

The rescue mission right now is on pause, the next phase will begin in about 10 to 12 hours from now. However this first phase of at least the rescue part of getting children out, which has happened this morning has been incredibly successful because four boys have been pulled from that cave to safety.

That means there are currently eight more children and their soccer coach in that save. We will continue to watch this throughout the show and the morning. Meantime, we are back now with Congressman Andy Biggs who serves on the Judiciary Committee.

Congressman, thank you for -- for sticking with us here. I know you were on the southern border recently. Curious for your thoughts as to what exactly you saw there and then there's these reunification deadlines to put children back with their families under five years old by Tuesday, older than five, everyone else at that point, by July 16th.

Do you think that's obtainable?

REP. ANDY BIGGS, R-ARIZONA: I think it's going to be very hard to -- to meet that goal and also we need to see where -- where are you going to put these folks? Are you going to keep them in a federal -- basically federal housing and -- and -- and where are they going to be located and are you reunifying the families into a tough situation and -- and there's a lot going on.

A lot of arm chair quarterbacking going on, but I think that the deadlines that are there are really difficult to -- to fulfill.

BURMAN: What happens if they're not met, the deadlines?

BIGGS: They can issue some sanctions, but the reality is they're going to have to -- to -- to recognize that -- that it's kind of an unrealistic goal if you will. And so I think that the -- the federal government's going to continue to try to reunite these families, but it's -- it's going to take a while.

It's going to take a little bit of time.

BURMAN: I want to ask you now about ICE because there has been this push from Democrats to abolish ICE. Jeh Johnson who is the head of the Department of Homeland Security in the last term for President Obama came out in an op-ed just a couple days ago saying we should not abolish ICE, instead we should essentially reform it.

And here's what he wrote, I want to write -- read some of it to you. He said, quote, "if Americans don't like ICE's current enforcement policies, the public should demand a change in those policies, or a change in the leaders who promulgate those policies. During the Vietnam War, millions of Americans demanded an end to the war.

No one seriously demanded we abolish the entire Defense Department. Obviously that would have completely compromised national security. Do you agree with the former head of the Department of Homeland Security there?

Obviously you don't think ICE should be abolished, but would you be willing to look at possibly reforming it to -- to make the institution better in its current state?

BIGGS: Well certainly you can make some reforms, and I agree with him on that. But -- but understand that -- that Jeh Johnson and -- and many people who -- who are on that side on the issue opposite of where I am, they -- they want -- they want to perpetuate the catch and release.

And so when I see people that actually promulgated the catch and release under Mr. Johnson, under his predecessor Janet Napolitano, the -- they're now serving as supervisory positions even under this administration.

So you still have catch and release, and that's -- that's one of the big incentives for people to come to this country illegally and to make statements asserting that they're (ph) asylum and refugee status.

And so they know they're going to be released into the interior, and that's a problem. So some reforms have to be made, but they aren't necessarily the ones that he might want to see.

BURMAN: And finally, Congressman, one of your members of the House Freedom Caucus, Jim Jordan, there are more allegations out this morning from members of the Ohio State wrestling team that during their days they say Congressman Jordan was aware of sexual abuse against some of those student athletes.

And a story in the Washington Post, others have come out and said Jim Jordan would not have known such a thing. The congressman denies knowing any of this. The allegations, though, do continue to mount one after the next.

Do you stand by Mr. Jordan and do you think that he should continue to potentially pursue the speakership of the House?

BIGGS: Yes, I stand -- I stand with Jim, I'm all in (ph) with Jim all the way. I've talked with him, I believe him when he says he didn't know, and I will just tell you that some of the allegations are coming out well he should have known or he must've known.

And that tells me a lot more about the accused than the -- about the accuser rather than the accused, because those are just conclusory (ph) statements saying oh well I knew something so why didn't he know or he should have known.

And I just don't -- I don't buy into that, and I think that the timing suspect as well and I think Jim is a man of integrity and honor and I'm -- I -- I'm with him all the way.

BURMAN: Congressman Andy Biggs out of Arizona, we will see what happens with Congressman Jordan, but we appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you very much, sir.

BIGGS: Thanks for having me, appreciate it.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source